Victim’s Henderson nephew says Manson’s death brings no solace

News of Charles Manson’s death brought no solace to Henderson resident Anthony DiMaria.

DiMaria’s uncle, Jay Sebring, was killed by Manson’s followers in August 1969.

“With the news of Mr. Manson’s death, it doesn’t really change anything because his victims … are just as dead today as the day they were sent to their grave (nearly) 49 years ago,” he said Sunday night from his Los Angeles home. He splits time between Southern California and the Las Vegas area.

DiMaria, who was 3 when his uncle was murdered, said it is important with the news of Manson’s death to remember the victims.

Sebring was a prominent Hollywood men’s hair stylist who pioneered the industry and created rock star Jim Morrison’s look. Other clients included Steve McQueen, Cliff Robertson and Paul Newman.

“And he fought very hard to achieve his goals, and that remained true in the horrific last moments of his life when he fought and stood up against an evil,” DiMaria said.

DiMaria’s mother and Sebring’s younger sister, Peggy DiMaria, described her brother as generous and handsome in a 2016 interview with Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Jane Ann Morrison.

“I totally looked up to him, he was my idol,” she said. “He was great-looking, and I was proud to say he was my brother.”

When she and her husband, Tony, moved to Las Vegas in 1965, they couldn’t afford to take the licensing classes to cut hair here.

Sebring found out they weren’t working as stylists after visiting the couple in Las Vegas. After he left, he sent them a check so they could go to school and start cutting hair again.

“He always asked me what I was doing and what I wanted to do,” Peggy DiMaria said. “I’m sure he’d ask his clients the same thing. He just wanted to help.”

Anthony DiMaria, an actor, began filming a documentary about Sebring’s life in 2007.

He interviewed more than 60 people for the documentary, including members of his family and celebrities such as Robert Wagner, Dennis Hopper, Nancy Sinatra, Paul Anka, Quincy Jones, Andy Williams, Vidal Sassoon and Fred Segal. He also interviewed participants in the trial, including Manson co-prosecutor Stephen Kay and forensic specialist Dr. Michael Baden.

“Sebring,” now in post-production, is set to be released in 2018.

Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.

Review-Journal reporter Max Michor contributed to this story.